The letter sent to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and several key cabinet ministers said the report by the joint review panel is "indefensible as a basis to judge in favour of the project."

It was signed by 300 scientists from universities from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, along with colleagues from international institutions including Stanford, Cornell and Oxford.

"There have been references to the review being science-based," said Eric Taylor, a University of British Columbia zoology professor and letter co-author. "We thought we should test that assumption by looking at the joint review panel report almost as we would a scientific publication, to see if it was rigorous."

Kai Chan, a University of British Columbia associate professor who helped pen the letter, calls the report a failure.

"The consideration of how the benefits outweigh the costs and risks was really given almost no space and no logic. It's absolutely insufficient as a basis to make a decision as to whether the project is in the public interest," says Chan.

View June 5, 2014 CBC News article
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View June 3, 2014 The Vancouver Sun article